MELBOURNE ruck Braydon Preuss has been dropped for Saturday's clash with St Kilda, with Demons coach Simon Goodwin concerned about his lack of forward presence.

Goodwin opted to play the 24-year-old ex-Kangaroo alongside first-choice ruck Max Gawn in the past two matches.

But Preuss had a quiet fortnight and clunked just two marks against the Western Bulldogs and West Coast to go with a combined 14 disposals and 35 hitouts.

"We need our big men marking the ball inside 50 and at the moment Braydon probably isn't doing that for us," Goodwin said on Friday.

"With Tim Smith coming back and Harrison Petty playing some good footy - it gives a chance again to look at a different looking forward line."

Despite storming its way to a preliminary berth in 2018, Melbourne now languish in second-last spot with a 5-12 record.

Goodwin's outfit will look to arrest a two-game losing streak at Marvel Stadium.

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But St Kilda, fresh from a rejuvenating win over the Western Bulldogs after Brett Ratten stepped in as caretaker coach from the sacked Alan Richardson, will present a significant challenge.

"It's pretty natural that with a new coach coming in, it frees things up," Goodwin said.

"They played with aggression, they certainly moved the ball slightly differently and they were managing to hit the scoreboard, so I think that's normal with a new coach.

"We certainly know what we're up against and they certainly challenged us in round five in that space. So, it's going to be a really good game - it's going be an aggressive game, it's going be a good contest and we're looking forward to it."

Livewire forward Jake Melksham will return for his first taste of football in 10 weeks through Melbourne's VFL affiliate side Casey.